COLUMBUS – Federal investigators arrested a Reynoldsburg detective Thursday on charges that he was dealing an array of drugs for months, including some that closely resembled drugs that had been seized during earlier searches by his police division.
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Tye Downard, 43, of Westerville, has made more than 20 drug deliveries to another person since October, including heroin, cocaine, marijuana and Percocet pills, investigators said. He is charged with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of controlled substances.
Reynoldsburg Chief Jim O’Neill said he was blindsided by the allegations when the FBI contacted the city this morning. He said he had no inkling that a public corruption probe by the FBI was underway.
“To say this is a shock would be really underplaying it,” O’Neill said. “I was completely floored when I heard this.”
Downard has been a detective in Reynoldsburg for more than 10 years and for the past nine has been involved full time with the Franklin County Drug Task Force.
According to court documents, the investigation into Downard’s activities began after the FBI Public Corruption Task Force was tipped off that Downard was using his position to engage in illegal activity.
The complaint alleges that Downard seized blue-and-white Percocet pills during a search warrant and provided blue-and-white Percocet pills to an unidentified individual to sell two days later.
Authorities say Downard was involved in the execution of a search warrant that yielded several green glass canning-style jars containing harvested marijuana buds and provided the individual with four green glass jars containing marijuana buds the following day.
Downard could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison.